The Convoy group of truck drivers were invited to the Capitol to meet with federal lawmakers. There is no indication of when or how the daily protests of circling Washington, DC, will end.
A convoy of hundreds of trucks, vans, trailers, and cars remains at a racing track parking lot in Maryland, about an hour and a half north of the capital. They have been going to the Beltway every day since Sunday.
We are in it for the long haul. If that is what it takes, we could go indefinitely. Brian Brase told reporters at the Capitol that they were not going away.
Brase and other convoy members held a press conference to praise the protesters. The organizers had more meetings with more lawmakers in the afternoon.
The organizers would not say what their next move would be. The National Guard was called in to help keep the convoy from entering the district.
The organizers of the protest insisted that their movement was not tied to the political right or left and that it was open to everyone. During the press conference, Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson called Democratic politicians tyrants. Johnson accused politicians, health authorities, big pharma, big tech, and the mainstream media of conspiring to hide the truth from the American public, as well as censoring and vilifying those who try to spread the truth.
Brase said that the mandates are starting to roll back, which is correct. You're welcome, restrictions in places like New York and Washington were going to fall before drivers showed up on the Beltway.
The courts have largely stopped President Joe Biden's attempts to enforce vaccine mandates on industry and government employees. The White House is appealing to the Supreme Court to allow it to enforce a vaccine mandate on Navy SEALs, which lower courts have blocked. The Supreme Court tossed out Biden's attempt to enforce vaccine mandates for companies with 100 or more employees.
Workers at healthcare facilities that receive federal funding can be required to have vaccine. Eliminating vaccine mandates from healthcare workers is one of the demands of convoy leaders. They mentioned vaccine mandates in the military, mask mandates in schools, and a repeal of the federal state of emergency over COVID that has been in place since March 2020.
The Canadian convoy that took over downtown Ottawa last month is what inspired the convoy movement. Trudeau declared a national state of emergency for the first time in 50 years after the protest. The American version's tactics of slowing Beltway traffic haven't yet led to the same dramatic results. Brase wouldn't say what protesters will do if Biden ignores them.
He hopes that we never have to progress to a bigger and bigger statement.
Brase said that the plan is for demonstrations to be peaceful and lawful, but not to enter the District of Columbia. He said that the convoy may eventually move closer to their base in Hagerstown, but he didn't say where their new home base would be.
Brase acknowledged that he has heard criticism that their demonstration is aglorified tailgate from people who want the trucks to enter the district and force their point. He said that the group is trying to change through diplomacy.
The goal is not to come into the district due to what happened in January. He said that their goal was to be peaceful, law-abiding citizens.
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